Due to the observation of the Memorial Day holiday on Monday May 30, there will be no residential street sweeping the entire week as Costa Mesa Sanitary District also observes this holiday pushing trash collection back one day.

This results in residential gutter lines being cluttered with trash cans making it difficult for street sweeper operators to do an efficient job. Street sweeping will resume back to normal schedule starting the week of June 6.

The following are a list of task that Clean Street’s operators will be conducting next week.

1. City wide alley street sweeping
2. Sweeping of park parking lots and other city-owned facilities
3. Accident call outs and special request.
4. Night route sweeping on all arterial streets.

Applications for Costa Mesa residents who would like to request a street closure to throw a block party on Independence Day are due by Thursday, June 13.

The application packets are available online or can be requested by phone at 714-754-5300. The packets include instructions and rules and regulations governing Fourth of July block parties. Applicants will also need to show proof of liability insurance for the event.

The completed applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Thursday June 13.

To obtain an online application package, visit the City’s website here.

For phone requests, please contact City Hall at (714) 754-5300 or via email at elena.martinez@costamesaca.gov.

Completed applications can be mailed Attn. Block Parties, to PO Box 1200, Costa Mesa, 92628 or delivered in person Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to the Parks & Community Services office on the third floor of City Hall, 77 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, 92628.

City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison presented Maintenance Supervisor Juan Santos with the City Manager Leadership Award for the month of April at the monthly employee Meet and Greet event.

“Juan is an exemplary member of our Public Services team,” Farrell Harrison said. “Whether it’s nights, weekends or holidays, he consistently mobilizes his team and the resources at his disposal to assist or address any situation within the City, regardless of whether it is a street, tree, or traffic issue; and does so with a positive attitude that resonates with his team and colleagues. I’m pleased to be able to honor Juan for his hard work and dedication to our community.”

As Maintenance Supervisor, he currently oversees the City’s street and sidewalk maintenance, street sweeping, street signs and markings, storm drains and graffiti abatement sections.

Santos exemplifies “Public Service” and “Team Work” in his everyday demeanor.  From assisting with Snoopy House, Earth Day and other special events to his response to daily maintenance issues and emergency situations during wind and rain events, he is always willing and eager to assist in any way he can. When asked to tackle a new project, his usual response, without hesitation, is “we can do that” or “we will take care of that.”

Santos left the City of Long Beach Gas Department to join the City of Costa Mesa in 2001.

He started as a part-time General Aide in Facilities and subsequently hired full time as a Maintenance Worker in 2007, assigned to the Street Section of the Division.

Santos was quickly promoted to Senior Maintenance worker a few months later.  Santos was promoted to Lead Maintenance Worker in 2009 and to Maintenance Supervisor of the Street Maintenance Section in 2018.

Public Service runs in his family.  Alexa, his wife of 34 years, has worked for the City of Garden Grove almost as long as they have been married.  His oldest daughter, Jackie, works for the Orange County Sanitation District and his middle daughter, Olivia, works for Riverside County Police and Fire Dispatch.

Based on numbers released Wednesday May 11 by the County of Orange, Costa Mesa’s extensive measures to reduce homelessness are paying dividends as the number of unsheltered homeless people living in Costa Mesa dropped by 20 percent, compared to the previous count performed in 2019.

“This is fantastic news,” Mayor John Stephens said. “I’m grateful to City staff and Mercy House for their heroic work of housing so many people despite the obstacles posed by the pandemic. Since the 2019 count, we have permanently housed a total of 215 individuals, and a Federal court order allows us to enforce laws against camping in our public spaces. Through the hard work of many and the Council’s decisive actions, we are in a much better place than we were three years ago.”

The Point in Time Count by the County of Orange is conducted biennially to determine the number of people experiencing homelessness on a given night. While the last count took place in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the 2021 count to February 22, 2022 through February 24, 2022.

Costa Mesa Outreach staff and members of the City’s Network for Homeless Solutions assisted with the count, which provides vital information that helps the City better understand homelessness and helps guide the City’s provision of services.

The positive results are attributed to several factors. First, the City Council’s will to address homelessness by creating a temporary 50-bed Bridge Shelter in April of 2019, followed by the completion of the 72-bed permanent Bridge Shelter that opened in April of 2021 on Airway Avenue.

Costa Mesa partnered with the City of Newport Beach on the permanent shelter for a more regional approach to address homelessness. “The partnership with Newport beach has been exceptional as they work with our street outreach, volunteer and housing efforts,” Assistant City Manager Susan Price said.

In addition, since 2013 the City’s Network for Homeless Solutions has developed a comprehensive response to homelessness, including street outreach, community policing, nuisance abatement, intensive case management, housing navigation and sustainability, rental assistance, workforce development, affordable/supportive housing and much more.

The Network for Homeless Solutions is a collaborative effort between multiple City departments, Mercy House and other nonprofits and faith-based organizations such as Trellis and the Lighthouse Church.

Since opening its doors in April of 2021, the permanent Bridge Shelter has assisted a total of 204 individuals with shelter and associated services, 33 of whom ended their homelessness by securing permanent housing.

To view the County of Orange’s Point in Time Count click here.

The City of Costa Mesa is partnering with Love Costa Mesa to hold the fifth annual City-Wide Serve Day on Saturday, May 14, where volunteers will participate in projects across the city serving the homeless community, providing practical needs to foster children, beautifying community parks, and much more.

For those who are interested in volunteering, please visit this website https://lovecostamesa.org/volunteer/ to sign up for a project.

“We are so fortunate to have this dedicated group of volunteers who love Costa Mesa and want to make us better,” Mayor John Stephens said. “I am honored to be a part of this effort and look forward to lending my hand to the many worthwhile improvement projects that we plan to tackle that day.”

Costa Mesa City staff volunteers will paint, clean up, plant and perform restoration work on more than a dozen projects throughout the city. Locations include  Ketchum Libolt, Moon, Fairview, Canyon, Balearic, Wakeham, TeWinkle, Wilson and Del Mesa parks. They will also do general cleanup along 19^th Street from Harbor Boulevard to the western City limit.

The Love Costa Mesa event begins at City Hall with an 8 a.m. rally where Mayor Stephens will be on hand to help start the day’s activities. Volunteers will be treated to a breakfast between 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

When the rally ends, volunteers will head out to work on their projects from 9 a.m. to 12 noon and then return to Costa Mesa for a lunch. The breakfast and lunch will be sponsored by local restaurants, which are Decanso, Newport Rib Co., Dave’s Hot Chicken, El Ranchito, Chick-fil-A and Miguel’s Jr.

Love Costa Mesa, which is led by a team of pastors from numerous congregations in the city, is an arm of the local faith-based nonprofit Trellis, a key City partner in the effort to aid those experiencing homelessness.

The City is pleased to announce the California Department of Housing and Community Development has awarded the County of Orange approximately $10.7 million in Project Homekey funds to convert one of Costa Mesa’s motels into permanent supportive housing for those experiencing homelessness.

“Costa Mesa is already a leader when it comes to addressing homelessness through our Bridge Shelter,” Mayor John Stephens said. “This new project takes those efforts to the next level. To get 88 units of permanent supportive housing is a game changer in our efforts to eliminate homelessness in Costa Mesa. I’m grateful to Supervisor Foley and the county team for working with our City staff to secure this important funding.”

Mayor Pro-Tem Andrea Marr, who represents District 3, where the motel project resides, also expressed her gratitude for the funding.

“We are grateful for the County’s support while we work with motel operators in Costa Mesa,” Marr said. “Providing a full-range of housing opportunities is a priority for our City; Project Homekey will allow us to serve Costa Mesans in great need of housing.”

This project achieves one of the City Council’s five Strategic Goals to “Diversify, Stabilize and Increase Housing to Reflect Community Needs” by exploring opportunities for potential motel conversions.

The money received from Project Homekey will be used to convert the Motel 6 at 2274 Newport Blvd. into 88 units of affordable housing.  These units will serve individuals experiencing homelessness who have been impacted by COVID-19, individuals with mental health conditions, veterans, and seniors.

In addition to the money received from the State, Costa Mesa is contributing $2 million in local matching funds for the project, along with the County of Orange, which is also providing $2 million towards construction of the project.

“I would like to thank our City Council for their leadership and vision.  I would also like to thank the County Board of Supervisors, including District 5 Representative, Lisa Bartlett, and Chairman Chaffee specifically for their partnership and support,” said Assistant City Manager Susan Price, the lead staff person at the City of Costa Mesa for the project.

Project Homekey is administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) with approximately $1.4 billion (FY 2021-22) in grant funding made available to local public entities, including cities, counties, or other local public entities, such as housing authorities or Tribal Entities within California.

Homekey is an opportunity for state, regional, and local public entities to develop a broad range of housing types, including but not limited to hotels, motels, hostels, single- family homes and multifamily apartments, adult residential facilities, and manufactured housing, and to convert commercial properties and other existing buildings to permanent or interim housing.

Costa Mesa Public Services staff recently celebrated the installation of the final touches for a second protected bike lane in the City.

The new protected bike lane extends half of a mile along Bristol Street from Randolph Avenue in the Sobeca District to northbound Newport Boulevard. The project was implemented as part of a larger citywide resurfacing project and comes on the heels of the opening of the Merrimac Way Active Transportation Project with protected bike lanes last year.

The new Bristol Street active transportation improvements connect to existing bike lanes on Newport Boulevard, further expanding the City’s growing bicycle network. Protected bike lanes provide a separation between bicycle riders and vehicles which includes a painted bicycle lane buffer, plastic flexible bollards, and other pavement markings.

City staff are designing and implementing these active transportation facilities to provide a low-stress mobility option for residents and visitors to reach their destination by bicycle. The new Bristol Street facility is the fourth of its kind implemented in Orange County.

In addition to the development of protected bike lanes, the City continues to make additional enhancements to its growing bicycle network. In February, a striped buffer and green paint conflict area striping were added to existing bike lanes on Baker Street.

That facility was extended an additional half mile from west of Harbor Boulevard to Mesa Verde Drive East. The enhanced Baker Street bicycle facility is designed to increase comfort of people riding bicycles and improve mobility and connectivity.

The City of Costa Mesa prevailed in its defense of laws preventing the concentration of group sober living homes within the City.

Today a jury, convened in the Federal District Court for the Central District of California, delivered a unanimous verdict in support of the City’s laws and efforts.

The case was filed in 2019. The plaintiffs are the operators of five locations that are in violation of the City’s municipal code. The suit challenged the City’s legislation that was developed to address concerns throughout the community about the proliferation of the facilities, negative impacts on surrounding residential neighborhoods, and harm to those recovering from drug and alcohol dependence.

“We are grateful that the jury affirmed Costa Mesa’s support of our neighborhoods and well-run, appropriately-sited group sober living homes,” noted Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens. “We’ve developed, enforced and defended our reasonable laws that prevent sober living home operators from preying upon and exploiting those suffering from addiction while restoring and maintaining the character of our neighborhoods. Our pioneering ordinances balance these important public safety interests. This verdict is yet another in a long string of victories in court that vindicate our approach.”

For nearly a decade, the City has developed and refined a series of laws that have been widely successful in eliminating poorly-run homes and supporting the neighborhoods in which compliant facilities operate. Left unchecked, unregulated sober living homes often provided substandard or dangerous care and disregarded regulations designed to help them be good neighbors.

The decision is expected to be appealed, and the City intends to continue its commitment to its residents and business operators, and most importantly, those seeking addiction treatment.

“We will likely face an appeal, however, the City will fight any attempts to weaken its ordinances related to group sober living homes,” added City Attorney Kimberly Hall Barlow.

The City has prevailed in numerous similar legal actions, reaffirming its right to enact ordinances in the best interests of the community. Other related cases are pending, and the City is confident it will continue to prevail.

The City Clerk Association of California has presented Costa Mesa City Clerk Brenda Green with the 2022 Municipal Clerk of Distinction Technology and Innovation award.

“Brenda Green is an unsung hero at City Hall,” Mayor John Stephens said. “Recently, she seamlessly executed our redistricting project. Her department handles all public records requests and thousands of filings and inquiries. She prepares our City Council  agendas and minutes and provides support to the city’s commissions and committees. Brenda is a trusted teammate during our council meetings. I couldn’t get through a meeting without her. Brenda is very deserving of this recognition. Congratulations!”

Green was nominated for the award by Council Member Arlis Reynolds and Assistant City Manager Susan Price. In letters to the City Clerk Association, they both cited her innovation, dedication to the City and community and her professionalism.

Green, who has been the Costa Mesa City Clerk since 2012, was surprised when she learned she received this honor.

“I would like to thank the City Clerk Association for honoring me with this award and also Susan Price, Dina Wild, Stacy Bennett and Council Member Reynolds for the nomination,” she said. “I am so thankful and happy, but I did not achieve this award on my own. I share this with our entire City Clerk team, David Nguyen, Stacy Bennett, Gladys Gonzalez, Tammy Arrington, Sarah Bravo-Wetzel, Karen Walker, and Leslie Pacheco. Also, I would like to recognize Ron Dam and Jeff Trujillo, with CMTV for their collaboration.”

She also noted the obstacles of her job the last two years.

“One morning we woke up during a world-wide pandemic and had to craft workable solutions to continue to hold public meetings,” she said. “It definitely was an adventure in learning, but now we have hybrid meetings and have integrated Zoom, Granicus, Vote Lynx, and You Tube, so the public has access and can participate both remotely and in person with their government. I appreciate this honor for all of our hard work. Thank you.”

Green was instrumental in the implementation of the virtual technology needed to host City Council, Committee and Commission meetings, ensuring public access to City government during a global pandemic where many other amenities had restrictive access.

Most recently, Green has managed the City’s redistricting efforts that required public input and the City Council action to change the geographic boundaries of the City’s six council district based off the most recent 2020 Census data.

She also oversees all City elections and manages the City’s unique elections webpage that centralized election-related information in one place. The webpage is easy to navigate and includes key information such as candidate disclosure statements, ballot measures, a candidate resource guide, an election calendar, election-related notices and voter information, and an interactive district map.

Green manages the City’s Concierge Desk staff that handles residents calls and helps direct City Hall customer traffic to the right place.

Prior to her work in Costa Mesa, Green was the City Clerk in Stanton from 1999 to 2011. Before working for City government she worked as an executive assistant for two assembly members and one state senator in the California State Legislature from 1988 to 1998.

A Costa Mesa resident, Green has a bachelor’s degree in business from Southern Columbia University in Orange Beach, Alabama.

The Costa Mesa Police Department will be conducting a driving under the influence (DUI) and driver’s license checkpoint on the day after St. Patrick’s Day, Friday, March 18, 2022, from 8:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. within the city limits.

Checkpoint locations are determined based on data showing incidents of impaired driving-related crashes. The primary purpose of DUI checkpoints is not to make arrests, but to promote public safety by distributing educational information and by taking suspected impaired drivers off the road.

“If you plan to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on Friday, have a game plan to get home safe and do not drink and drive,” Sgt. Dan Miles said. “These checkpoints, funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety, are essential to keeping the community safe. On Friday, we will be looking for impaired drivers because driving under the influence is dangerous and puts others on the road at risk.”

“Our preference is to have zero DUI drivers on our roadways and that those who decide to drink do so responsibility by always having a designated driver,” said Chief Ron Lawrence. “DUI checkpoints are a way to educate our community and our hope is people learn to plan ahead with alternative transportation when out drinking.”

CMPD reminds the public that impaired driving is not just from alcohol. Some prescription medications or over-the-counter drugs may interfere with driving. Always follow directions for use and read warning labels about driving or “operating heavy machinery,” which includes driving a car. While medicinal and recreational marijuana are legal, driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal. Drivers charged with a first-time DUI face an average of $13,500 in fines and penalties, as well as a suspended license.

CMPD offers these reminders to ensure you have a safe night of fun that does not involve a DUI:

• Always use a designated sober driver to get home, which could be a friend who is not drinking, ride-share, a cab or public transportation.
• If you see someone who is impaired try to drive, take the keys and help them make other arrangements to find a sober way home.
• Call 911 to report drunk drivers.
• If you are hosting a party, offer nonalcoholic drinks. Monitor those who are drinking and how they are getting home.
• If you plan on drinking or taking medications that may impact your ability to drive safely, plan on staying at home.

City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison has presented the City Manager Leadership Award for the month of February to Finance Accounting Specialist II Ricardo Rosiles.

“Ricardo plays a key role in the City of Costa Mesa as he works on a variety of revenue projects, collaborating with multiple City Departments and businesses to record monthly payments,” Farrell Harrison said. “I admire his positive, can-do attitude and am happy to present him with this leadership award.”

His projects include Measure Q taxing retail sales/deliveries of cannabis, Measure X cannabis manufacturing and distribution tax remittance, Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT/BIA), Property Taxes, Solid Waste Hauler Franchise Fees and Costa Mesa Country Club to name a few.

Every day, Rosiles goes above and beyond his job responsibilities to ensure the Treasury Division is well supported. He is detail-oriented, which is essential when examining financial documents for errors or discrepancies.

Rosiles is also an active listener and communicates effectively. He takes pride in providing exemplary customer service to the public and his own co-workers. He is a pragmatic problem solver; he looks at problems as an opportunity to test and showcase his financial knowledge.

Rosiles joined the City of Costa Mesa, Parks and Community Services Department in 2005 as Recreation Leader III, in 2009 he was promoted to Recreation Leader IV

In January 2013, he joined the Finance Department as Accounting Specialist I (cashier). In December 2021, Rosiles became Accounting Specialist II.

Originally, from Santa Ana, Rosiles is a graduate of Santa Ana High School.